This is a "what if" question, but as our dog is now 10 it's something I have wondered about - supposing she becomes incapacitated in an area with no access to cars?  I always take my mobile with me when walking, and could usually contact my husband - but - the dog is much too heavy to carry so what would be the best thing to do in such circumstances?

Think placing a dog on a coat / blanket and dragging it along would be easier than trying to carry it. That's what i've always imagined anyway , but probably not as easy as it sounds.

I always try and take a light coat with me if out and about away from other people. As I foster old dogs, this senario could crop up I supppose and I
want to be semi prepared :)

Dog on a coat is my plan, but I rarely walk them anywhere so remote for this very reason - when Tia started to get wonky I made sure I parked in the central car park of the local park so that any given time, I couldn't be more than 10 minutes' walk from the car and there would always be people around somewhere nearby to help if need be.

I wonder now, thinking on it a bit more closely, if it would be worth having somesort of lightweight foldup tough stretcher in a backpack or something just in case, especially if you're on rough ground.  If a dog was to collapse on the rare occasion I take mine to the wood then I could have a 20 minute drag ahead of me and very rough, pebbly ground and it would probably shred a jacket in no time!

Some years ago, someone I knew who lived in the next road, was walking her young Doberman through the fields near my house. It was dark and she could see a car with it's lights on, parked on the track. The area is known to be a bit of a hang-out for drug dealers/couples etc at night, so she was a bit nervous about having to pass the car. When she was some yards from the car her dog dropped dead. The car door opened and a young man came to her aid, put the dog in his car and took her home. He helped her put the dog into her car so she could take the body to the vets the next day and called a neighbour to come and look after her. Whatever the lad was up to that night I don't know, but she had unexpected help when she most needed it.

It's one of those things that you just don't think will happen to you isn't it? But, it does and not many of us will walk about with precautions of the 'in case' I certainly would not want to be taking precautionary equipment with me on walks, unless you had an inkling that it could happen, the only thing I think you need today is your mobile.

If I really could not physically pick up the dog, and there were no family or friends available to help carry your dog with you I'd call my vet and ask them to come with a stretcher as soon as available, I know I wouldn't leave my dog to go for help so would just sit with her until then, or if I came across a kindly soul.

Going back many, many years (before the mobile :-( ) a rather large Lab appeared from a bush and jumped on one of our dogs backs, it knocked her down but I thought no harm had been done, it was only a few minutes later after the owner had put his dog on the lead and I had allowed him to get well in front that I realised she was having a problem her back leg seemed to have gone, she was a Rough Collie so not a large dog by any means, but not exactly light either, (especially over a long distance) I picked her up and it half killed me trying to get her home, with my little brother trailing behind with the other dogs, I just kept stopping and resting.

Luckily she was fine by that evening, but, as for me back ache for ages. :-D

Which is why I wouldn't attempt to drag or lift a dog today, I would just use the 'greatest invention' :-) the mobile and ask for help somewhere. :-)

That's a nice story Daisy. :-)

Not for the dog I mean the help from the young man.

If you feel there is a real possibility of this happening and it worries you I would think the best thing is to change your exercise habits to remain in areas where help could be quickly available or when others are able to accompany you.

> Whatever the lad was up to that night I don't know, but she had unexpected help when she most needed it.

......then back up the lane to finish to deal :)

>Whatever the lad was up to that night I don't know, but she had unexpected help when she most needed it.

Daisy that is a heartwarming story.  Restores your faith doesn't it?

>"what if"

A very good question. Personally, I try not to walk my oldies to far from home (if I am alone) after they get to a certain age and never anywhere too remote. Having said that, I guess any of them could pop their clogs or become injured at anytime so it is worth having some plan of action.  It would not always be practical for my 'the other half' to get back to help me in such instances, so I have my (doggy) neighbours number to hand. He knows where my wheelbarrow is. I also have my vets number with me and in an emergency, they should be able to help. It is also worth keeping your vets number with you if you come across an injured animal (deer etc) as you never know.

And of course, it may not be your dogs that get into trouble - it may be you! A friend of mine many years ago was out walking his dogs on remote, private land and tripped and broke his leg. He did not have a mobile phone back then and lay for a considerable time before the 'search party' found him and his dogs. It is worth thinking about what you would do in this type of scenario too. Does any member of your family know the routes you may take? Do they know where to search for you if you go awol? Worth a thought too :)

I'm very guilty for taking the dogs out and not telling anyone when/where I am going.  I love to just get a bit of freedom and sometimes you get somewhere and it's a bit busy or the likes so I go elsewhere.  I will now think in the future, about my safety.  I also never take my phone!  I figure that we managed to drive and walk around without the constant contact for all those years, without the knowledge of help(or annoyance) just a fingertip away!! Weren't we daredevils!!lol
I had an akita collapse in the forrest with her cruciate snapping.  I had to make a sling with some leashes and help her hobble back to the car.  Her son, however, wouldn't walk at all when it happened to him.  I had to make a stretcher from some branches of the fir trees and drag him back to the car.  He loved it but I was knackered!

> When she was some yards from the car her dog dropped dead.

That's also a situation I worry about, with Paige having DCM - Soli dropped dead like that but she was at home indoors, and it could have happened anywhere (as it did with her brother, on a walk).  Paige at least is only 25kg but it's still a concern, both for her and future dobes.

Good question. My own are small enough to carry, but I've recently been walking an 11 year old Goldie for the Cinammon Trust, and I did wonder the other day about what if he did collapse. I usually walk him on quiet but not deserted paths, so hopefully someone would be able to help, but the coat and leads ideas are well worth bearing in mind too. I always try to have my mobile with me when I'm out walking, but sods law it will be the time I don't have it!

This was brought home to me on one of the warm days last week when we came across a man with on overweight staffie that had collapsed, we believe due to the heat.

Fortunately there was a puddle nearby so he was able to get the dog to lie in the shallow water and cool him in shade until he recovered enough to walk back to the car which was only a minute or 2 from where they were.  A timely reminder how warm it can get and that overweight pets are going to be especially prone, but also to know what to do when you get home.. (it was only recently that I had read about a dog going into shock and died because the owner gave it ice-cubes to cool only to find the body went into shock.)

But also, how do you get them back to the car in an emergency.  How would I carry one of mine in the event of a snake bite for instance as you need to keep them immobile to stop it working through the system

Frightening thoughts

This is something I often wonder about, especially as I have 3 largish dogs (Goldens). I always make a point of carrying my mobile phone with me, I'm not one for chatting and don't have a contract phone, it's always been "Pay as you go", it's my insurance for if I ever break down in the car or am vulnerable whilst walking the dogs.

I often find myself at least 30 minutes walk from the car, and when walking from home even longer, but thankfully this scenario has never happened. Well, it did once - my boy had sneaked out of the park and gorged himself on a food waste bag at the back of a nursing home (the gate led from park directly into the rear garden). I was at least 45 mins from home as didn't have the car. The longest walk of my life which ended up in him being rushed straight to the vet to have vomiting induced (we had no idea WHAT he had eaten we just knew it was a LOT!).

There is no way I could carry any of my dogs, my boy is around 42 kg, the girls 10 kg lighter, and I confess it is something I do wonder about, especially if God forbid one should be bitten by an Adder, or have an accident.

I hope it never happens to me, but if it should, I hope I have my mobile and could summon some sort of help.

Yes a worrying thought. Fortunately when it happened to me completly out the blue my apparently health dog jumped out of car ranyes ran as usual 10 yards up the path as I was locking the car and collapsed. Fortunately she was with help able to get back to the car and I drove her straight to the vet. Sadly it was cancer of the spleen and we lost her  a few weeks later

...and I invariably have more than one dog with me, usually walk 4 together, so not sure how I'd manage if one collapsed as most weigh in the region of 30kg. I do usually have my phone with me but often can't get a signal and it would be sods law that the time I need it I wouldn't be able to get a signal.

We can analyse things and come up with all sorts of scenarios, but at the end of the day you wouldn't do anything or go anywhere if you thought of all the problems you may encounter...

>but at the end of the day you wouldn't do anything or go anywhere if you thought of all the problems you may encounter...

Very true but it does no harm to bat a few idea's around just incase :)

I had this happen many years ago with a large GSD who shattered his upper arm leaping into the sea and ..we think... twisting his front leg between two boulders. Not only was he in 4 ft deep water but we were over a mile from the car on a beach with high cliffs so no way to go only back the way we had come. luckily OH at the time (Now ex) was 6'6" and strong but it very nearly gave him heart failure carrying a 35kg dog back to the car. We had brought them out, 5 in total, in the trailer behind OH'S posh works car and I had to sit on the back seat with a soaking dog and human (me as I ran into the sea to pull him to shore) while we drove to the vets. If I had been on my own I would have been stuck, no mobiles then and not many folk walking a wet and windy beach in December! Nothing quite beats walking a mile with wellies full of water and a sodden duffle coat in sub zero temperatures! Tzar survived after major surgery and lots of screws pins and plates, the OH nearly didn't!
When Granny Pepsi ruptured her cruciate we were half way up a steep hill in the country park and I made a sling with leads to help her one step at a time come down, took us over 1/2 hour to cover about 500 yards. I had phoned the vet and the nurse had offered to come and help me carry her but luckily it wasn't needed. Just as well as she weighs in at 54 kg ....
I never ever go walking without my mobile now, and often choose to walk with friends.
Aileen

If you feel there is a real possibility of this happening and it worries you I would think the best thing is to change your exercise habits to remain in areas where help could be quickly available or when others are able to accompany you.

I agree with that point of view. Dragging any distance is by no means easy if the dog is heavy to the person dragging it (experience) + it could do a lot of internal damage.

I have heard fantastic reports about the DogAids Harness which has additional straps going across the handler to support the weight of the dog as well as handles on the harness.

Well worth considering if you know there is a possibility the dog could collapse.  At least you might be able to support a dog getting back home

Having carried one of our BH's at just under 30 kilos a hundred yards or so (It sure felt like more) one Christmas morning when he broke down, it's a scenario that I have often wondered about as know I couldn't do it again. Always carry a mobile & when he's with us & don't go too far from a road, but your idea of a Wheelbarrow, I'd never thought of it what a good idea. Know what OH will be getting for his birthday!

> supposing she becomes incapacitated in an area with no access to cars?

I've had the discussion with my OH. Buster (90kg) has bad elbows and will sometimes stumble/trip which will cause him a limp. On one occasion the limp was quite bad, but he was still weight-bearing, so I helped support his weight by pulling upwards on his chest harness while he limped home. It made me think hard about what would have happened if he couldn't walk at all.
I usually walk Buster on my own, so carrying him would not be an option and I can't see it being possible to carry him with the help of somebody else either, it's hard enough for 2 people to lift him into a car, so going any distance would not work.
I walk him in an old orchard, it doesn't have any roads, but it's not fenced in so OH could drive the 4x4 in, so I just need to ring him and he'll off-road it to come pick us up.

Many years ago, as a teenager when I lived at 'home' with my dad we were out with the dogs (2 mongrel litter mates). The male would run like a grey-hound for fun and on a 'lap of honour' around a field, he caught a leg in a dippy in the ground (bumpy ground, it was a feild that often had cows in - I hasten to add that we never even entered the field with the dogs if there were cows in it). He fell, got up, but refused to walk, wimpering and holding a foot up. We were miles away from a phone box (we never had mobiles then) and 1 & half miles away from home. Dad was going to walk home for help, leaving me with the dog (dad couldn't carry him as he only has one arm), but I didn't want to be out there on my own (LOL, we were next to an old coach road that was thought to be haunted), so I carried him home, he was 4 & half stone in weight. Crikey, that walk seemed VERY long!

We've had dogs for as long as I can remember (about 30 years) and that's the only time we've had a dog that couldn't walk home.

I'm also guilty of bogging off without saying where I'm going, and all my walks are pretty remote with zero car access once past the car park.
It's something that I did think about when spud was having seizures and I did change my walks then. I think now with just Daisy ( 18 k ) I could probably manage to stagger back to the car with her.

I remember once when my first dog Louie ( GSD ) ran into a tree when he was about 18 months, I thought he'd broken his shoulder and managed to carry him to the vets which thankfully was just a few yards from the park, but looking back, I have no idea how I ( 5'3 ) ever found the strength to do it, he was a big dog, I think when adrenaline kicks in, your body can do some remarkable things.

There are some dog emergency stretchers available (google), this one on a newfie site seems good, its very much easier to carry weight on your back than dragging

http://www.northlandnewfclub.com/Slings%20&%20Stretchers.htm
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I used to worry about this big time when my pyr got older. I always had my mobile with me to call for help when needed.  (Luckily it never happened).
Now that my heaviest dog is 21kg, I am less worried. Although I couldn't carry that sort of weight for miles, I could manage somehow. I still carry my mobile with me though as I wouldn't be able to go that far with that sort of weight.